India will open its ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tournament on February 20 against Bangladesh in a Group A clash in Dubai. India also has Pakistan and New Zealand in Group A, with their big-ticket match against Pakistan on Feb 23 and versus New Zealand on March 2.

While the batting of the Indian team is a blockbuster, the issue is their thin fast bowling lineup, which has Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana as main pacers with Hardik Pandya for support. Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the tournament due to injury has been a huge blow for the Men in Blue.

It was seemingly felt that Harshit Rana, who made his India ODI debut against England recently, will be the preferred partner for Mohammad Shami in the India XI. But a report has quashed those rumors, and now Arshdeep Singh is being considered for India’s opening match against Bangladesh in Dubai.

Harshit Rana played all three ODIs and picked 6 wickets in all. Arshdeep Singh played one game and picked two wickets. However, Harshit is not slated to start India's Champions Trophy campaign and would most likely sit out unless plans change dramatically.

Arshdeep has only played nine One-Day Internationals, but he is the team's second frontline pacer after Mohammad Shami. Furthermore, his meteoric ascent in T20I cricket, which saw him become India's leading wicket-taker in the format, cannot be overlooked.

"Harshit Rana has been the flavor of the season as far as India's emerging crop of fast bowlers is concerned, but one of head coach Gautam Gambhir's finds is unlikely to start in India's playing eleven in the Champions Trophy with Arshdeep Singh still considered way ahead in terms of talent and quality," a PTI report stated.

"It is understood that Harshit started in all three games against England because the team management, currently helmed by Gautam Gambhir, wanted to check out if his protege could be considered as Jasprit Bumrah's replacement, and also, this was the only series where Shami's fitness could also have been tested in real terms. Hence, Arshdeep was rested in the first two games and only got a chance when the think-tank decided to rest Shami, who had played back-to-back ODIs,” the report added.

Gautam Gambhir has been a huge force behind Harshit Rana being fast-tracked in the Indian team. Rana has debuted for India in all three formats in just a couple of months, and Gambhir, who was Rana’s IPL franchise KKR’s mentor, has played a huge role in the same.

Having stated that, despite the fact that Rana has done nothing wrong, he will have to wait for his chance due to Arshdeep's expertise and skill set.